Q u e s t s
by Seigan
Summary: They defeated Naraku, but the jewel was only half-complete. And to complicate matters, a new enemy rises on the horizon. What's going on? Epic-type spinoff of the storyline. IY/KA & S/M. R/R Review PLEASE
1. Missing Jewel

~:*:~

**_Quests_**

By Seigan

~:*:~

  
  


**Disclaimer-**

_Inuyasha does not belong to me_

  
  


**Rating-**

_Rated PG-13 for blood, violence, and romance_

  
  


**Genre-**

_Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance, Mystery_

  
  


**Summary-**

S_pinoff from the Inuyasha timeline. Inuyasha and Kagome has been searching for the shards, but is that enough? After the destruction of Naraku, the jewel was not complete. Something was not right- the jewel was just about half complete. They needed to find the rest of the jewel. And matters are complicated as a new enemy appears on the scene. What's going on?_

  
  


**Chapter 1**

_Missing Jewel_

  
  


"Welcome home Kagome!" Mrs. Higurashi said when her daughter entered the house through the back door. Souta was there too. It had been two months since her last visit. It had been three years since the quest started for the jewel of four souls. Kagome was now seventeen, and preparing for college. However, she still had about a year of school left.

  
  


Kagome nodded, and took off her shoes and transferred to sandals to preserve the tatami mats. Kagome put down her large yellow backpack, quaking the house. Souta asked, "How do you lift that thing!?" Kagome chuckled.

  
  


"Easy, I just do," Kagome replied with a fake smile. In reality, she was tired from the previous battle. She thought _Damn it. Damn it all. I wasted all this time to find and fight Naraku, and we only still have a part of the jewel. Where are the other shards? Across Japan? In one piece held by another power? Or in other places around the world. I thought the jewels were only in Japan._

  
  


_We had to fight Naraku, enhanced with a large piece of the Shikon jewel, and for what? We only got a little piece from him. Did we really have that little? And whatever happened to his shards? We got hurt really badly in the battle, and we could've died. But for what? Is the jewel that hard to find? Is this the punishment for trying to bring together the jewel? At least it'll be easier to find the rest of the pieces now- we've got more time. Miroku is not going to die from the void, and our friends that were risen from the dead can rest peacefully. Kohaku is gone from this world, Kikyou returned to resting, and Kagura and Kanna have been freed. They've all been avenged. But still there is the fact that we have yet to finish the jewel. And if we journeyed so hard and so painfully for just half of it, how hard must we quest to finish it? Is keeping the jewel out of the hands of evil all but a group of quests?_

  
  


Kagome then said, "Mother, Souta, Grampa, I'll have to stay a bit longer however. I need to complete the jewel. But I'm staying for two weeks first." They nodded.

  
  


  
  


-:|_flashback|_:-

  
  


The group of five stood on the hill that shadowed the castle. It was a violet-black castle built in the feudal Japanese style. They all knew that Naraku, the real thing, was inside. No more straw puppets, no more false leads, just Naraku himself.

  
  


Inuyasha turned around and asked, "Everybody, are we ready to do this?" The group nodded. This would be the battle that they defeat Naraku and avenge all the deaths. So Kagome climbed onto Inuyasha's back, Miroku, Sango, and Shippou climbed on Kirara, and they charged forward, into inevitable danger.

  
  


There, in the castle's courtyard, awaited Kagura. She had her fan in hand, and was ready to attack the group. She waved her fan, and the arcs of wind headed towards the six. They dispersed, letting the wind sweep past them. Inuyasha took out his tetsusaiga and slashed at Kagura a few times. She jumped back and unleashed a fury of wind. They cut Inuyasha a bit but he shook these wounds off his mind; they were of no concern.

  
  


Inuyasha decided to finish Kagura off. He slashed a bunch of times, sending wounds onto Kagura. Kagome sent a purified arrow her way, and it nearly hit. But as she dodged it, she met with the boomerang bone. Inuyasha decided to unleash his cutting wound, and this time, Kagura ran away. Naraku decided to appear at that time.

  
  


Sango unleashed Kirara. Then she let her boomerang fly. Naraku jumped out of the path. Sango retrieved her boomerang as Kirara started slashing at Naraku. Naraku unleashed his tentacles onto Kirara, smashing her back and sent her back to her smaller form. Kagome, in the back, notched an arrow into her bow, and unleashed it. It flew with the pink light streak behind it, heading towards Naraku. He jumped out of the way, but the streak bit into his arm. It nearly ripped his left arm off, but unfortunately, it didn't take him out. Miroku charged forward, and slashed at the brown tentacles. Naraku charged forward, sending Miroku running back.

  
  


Inuyasha took this time to swipe his sword in an arc, from his left side to his right, cutting off some of the tentacles. Naraku retreated, but this time he called forth demons. There were hundreds of snaky demons that charged forward. Inuyasha unleashed the cutting wind, which blasted the demon horde with five blades of light. Naraku, however, had taken this time to sneak into the team. Inuyasha was so caught up that he didn't notice Naraku sneaking around.

  
  


Inuyasha and the team was brought up to date by Kagome's scream. Naraku had sometime came out behind them, and now he was in a human form. His hand had turned into a blade, and it was poised to strike Kagome. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and Kirara ran to her aid, and Naraku was stopped, but it was not any of the team that had done the deed. It wasn't even a person you'd expect to do the deed. But it was done. It was Kagura. She had slashed her fan down Naraku's back.

  
  


Then, the team attacked Naraku while he was stunned. Miroku and Sango cut up Naraku with their weapons and Kagome unleashed her arrows until Naraku exploded. Inuyasha dealt the finishing blow. Naraku exploded and turned to dust. His castle started to disintegrate, and the only light that you could see in the dust storm was the faint glow of the Shikon shard.

  
  


Kagome went over to pick up the jewel. When she stood up, the team expected to see a smiling face. Except that it was melancholy and saddened. Sango asked, "What's wrong?"

  
  


Kagome replied, "Everybody, this is not good. Both of our shards combined only makes half of the jewel!" Kagome held up the partially completed jewel for everyone to see.

  
  


Inuyasha exclaimed, "WHAT!?"

  
  


Miroku went up and asked calmly, "What is going on here?" He was also starting to unwrap his gloved hand, slowly to be cautious. 

  
  


"I'm not sure," Kagome announced, "but I surely don't like it."

  
  


Days later, they had discussed the matter with Kaede, and decided that the jewel was still in the hands of others. It was just mysterious that the shards from Kagome, Kouga, Naraku, and others only made about half. They agreed to continue searching, after Kagome stayed in her time for a vacation first. Kikyou, Kohaku, and the resurrected people connected with Naraku disappeared. Kagura and Kanna became normal demons and were freed from Naraku's rule. And Kagome went to the well to return to her time for her long deserved vacation.

  
  


-:|_end flashback_|:-

  
  


Kagome, after her bath, went to her room and dropped onto her bed, petting Buyo. She asked her cat, "Buyo, did you miss me?" The obese cat purred happily. She smiled at Buyo. _It's so good to be home. Especially after that tiring battle. Finally I can rest at home now! Two weeks! I can stay here for two weeks, without worry of the Shikon Jewel, without worry of Inuyasha_, she thought.

  
  


The next day she returned to school. There, she was greeted by her friends as she returned to school. However, she was bombarded by medical questions from her friends. Like:

  
  


"How's your rheumatism?" or "Are your bunions okay?" as well as "Was the yellow fever bad" and including "Was the cowpox bad" or "I hope your trench foot is gone" plus other weirdo questions. And this was what Kagome had to stand when she returned to school. She thought, _Grampa, I am so going to KILL YOU when I get back_. 

  
  


She had a normal day at school. Her English class was boring, she found no excitement in science, history was boring, and math was insane. The only class that she found was partially exciting was physical education. There she could use her skills gained in the feudal era without the incentive of a life-threatening demon. Kagome ran laps, and was the fastest in the girls group. Yuka asked, "If you're sick so much, how come you run so fast?" Kagome just shrugged in reply.

  
  


When it came to jumping, she aced that. Kagome was trained from avoiding poisonous barbs and tentacles as well as blades, including fangs. Then, when the teacher announced push-ups, that was no problem. Archery strengthened her arms to such a level that she beat most of the boys in time and number. Sit-ups were no matter to Kagome. She had battled so much that her body was tuned up to a point that it even surprised herself. Kagome expected to be able to pass P.E., but she wasn't expecting to beat everybody. Her gym teacher came up and congratulated, "Wow Kagome. You've been sick a lot and you beat most of the class. What_ have_ you been doing all that time?"

  
  


Kagome modestly replied, "Exercise was recommended to help keep me in shape. I guess I had exercised too much." The teacher as well as the class accepted that.

  
  


After that they had a break. At that time, Houjou decided to come up. Houjou asked, "Hey Kagome, I see you're healthy again." Kagome nodded. Houjou continued, "Um, if it's not too much trouble, do you want to go to the movies with me tonight?"

  
  


Since Kagome didn't want to hurt his feelings, she replied, "I'd love to go with you!" Then she pondered,_ Was that a good idea? Now I gotta stand through hours of boredom. But I should be enjoying this! No rude Inuyasha, no demon wanting to kill me every minute of my life, no Shikon Jewel trying to get me,_ and_ no Naraku trying to steal the jewel._

  
  


~:*:~

  
  


That night, Kagome put on a navy blue dress with matching vest in preparation for Houjou. As she stepped out of her room, she was met by Souta. He asked, "Kagome, why are you going out with Houjou even if you don't like him that much?"

  
  


"I'm not sure myself," Kagome replied. "I guess I didn't want to hurt his feeling. Well, at least the movie theater is dark enough for me to sleep." Souta chuckled at this.

  
  


Soon, Houjou arrived. They went to a movie theater, where Houjou picked out a romance movie. Kagome was glad, because it would be low in volume so that she could sleep. In the dark theater, Kagome did so. Houjou was so indulged in the movie that he didn't notice his sleeping date. The movie ended a long one and a half hour later, in which it was missed completely by Kagome. She woke up just as the credits started. _Phew! Well, that was fun_, Kagome thought as she walked out with the other people.

  
  


Houjou walked her home, and they said goodnight. She walked in, and went straight upstairs. There she changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and dropped asleep. But while she was having fun here, danger was on the horizon in the feudal era.

  
  


**A/N:** Well, here's my story. I've got chapter two and three in planning, and by now that you are reading this sentence, chapter two will have been started. I am sure to get a lot of character flaws since I've only seen episodes 1-36, 40, 52, and 54. I'm not sure if this is even a mystery story. Drama- maybe. Romance, a bit, because I cannot write a good romance story. But action and adventure is something I can venture in.

  
  


**Next Chapter**

_Call From Back Then_

  
  


A demon attacks Kaede's town, but there was a stronger force behind it. Needing help, they call on Kagome. But is it enough?

  
  



	2. Call From Back Then

~:*:~

  


_**Quests**_

By Seigan

  


~:*:~

  


**Disclaimer-**

_Inuyasha does not belong to me_

  


**Rating-**

_Rated PG-13 for blood, violence, and romance_

  


**Genre-**

_Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance, Mystery_

  


**Chapter 2**

_Call From Back Then_

  


Inuyasha sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace in Kaede's hut. It was now a pile of cinder and ash. And there Inuyasha sat in boredom since he had nothing to do. He couldn't go on a shard hunt, since they're yet to be found, and he couldn't find them with his naked eyes. He couldn't kill anyone, because Kagome would sit him until he broke every bone in his body. What could our poor hanyou do? He could sit there in boredom.

  


Miroku was with Kaede hunting herbs. They left early in the morning and had yet to come back. Kirara was playing with Shippou and Sango was asleep. However, this boredom was not to last. An evil rose from the horizon. It had the shape of a man, and in his palm, was a small pinprick of light. It shone with a powerful light, and floated down to the village. When it hit the ground, it erupted in a white light.

  


The hanyou was too bored to notice this. He was notified, however, by the shouts of "demon!" and "help!" Inuyasha jumped out of his bored state, Sango fell out of her futon, and Kirara transformed. Sango got her boomerang and ran out of the hut with Inuyasha. There was a green plant-like demon crawling around the village. Its whip-like tentacles barbed with thorns skewered lightly-armed defenders. There were a few small flowers on it's top, where the tentacles came together.

  


After crawling into the village with it's tentacles flailing in the air, it saw Inuyasha and Sango. It changed direction, and headed for them. Inuyasha and Sango dove out of the way as it passed through. Inuyasha used his Iron Reaver Soul Stealer attack and cut a mass of the demon's tentacles. Sango unleashed the boomerang, which broke some of the tentacles. Kirara claw at the beast, and her flames burned the plant demon.

  


The flaming mass ran through the village huts, setting a path of fire. The buildings burned and collapsed as this giant plant ripped through the wooden structures. Sango, Inuyasha, and Kirara followed suit. Shippou followed the three. Inuyasha battled the beast with his claws, sending it retreating to a field. Sango and Kirara continued attacking in sync with Inuyasha. However, the flowers rose up and shot down a barrage of tiny needle-sized barbs. They kept on avoiding the barbs, but one of them hit Sango in the left collarbone. She gasped in pain. Her fingers wandered over the barb, and then pulled it out. Sango was stunned by the poison inside the barb, which was traveling through her bloodstream. Inuyasha and Kirara were unscathed, however. They continued attacking, oblivious to the fact that Sango was kneeling in pain on the ground behind them. Soon, after a few claw attacks, the plant demon was reduced to ashes. However, when they turned around to look for Sango, they were surprised.

  


Sango was lying on the ground, with her head resting on an outstretched arm. She was on her right side, one arm parallel with her body, the crook of the other arm was positioned over her abdomen. In the middle of her left collarbone was an oval-shaped purple mark. It was about one inch thick, two inches long, and growing. Inuyasha picked her up and carried her to Kaede's hut.

  


There, Kaede and Miroku were already there. When Inuyasha carried her in, Miroku fell silent and Kaede asked, "What happened to ye?"

  


Inuyasha replied, "We went after that plant demon. She got hit by a poisonous barb." Then Inuyasha put her down onto a futon.

  


Kaede went over and worked on Sango. She treated Sango's wound with her herbs. They were silent as Kaede slowly worked on the exterminator. After awhile, Kaede told the two to leave so that she could undress Sango to treat on her wounds more. They walked over to the small cliff that they usually had a picnic at. However, Miroku was gloomy. Soon, Kaede opened the hut's 'door'. Inuyasha and Miroku hurried over. Miroku asked, "How's Sango?"

  


Kaede melancholy explained, "Her situation is dire. The poison is strong, and I have not the herbs to cure her. To get some would take days. She would die by then."

  


"What can we do?" Miroku asked.

  


"There are two choices," Kaede said, "One is to wait for the herbs or for her to defeat the poison on her own. The other is for her to go to Kagome's time, where the medicine is far greater."

  


Miroku quickly replied, "Inuyasha, take her to Kagome's time." Inuyasha and Kaede raised a brow.

  


Then Kaede advised, "Here Inuyasha. Take these barb. Ye may need it. An antidote could be made with this poison." She held up a small pouch containing barbs.

  


Then Inuyasha asked, "Why did this demon attack this village. The jewel is not here, so they wouldn't sense it here."

  


"I think that this may be a plan," Kaede replied, "because the villagers claimed that the demon was spawned by creature in the form of a human."

  


Inuyasha nodded, and picked up Sango. He ran towards the bone-eaters well. The forest sped past him as he traveled quickly to the well. When the well was in range, Inuyasha jumped into the air, and with precision, went into the well. Then he entered the time void, and floated all the way to modern Tokyo.

  


Once on the dirt of the other side, Inuyasha jumped through the opening of the well and landed a foot in front of it. Inuyasha ran into the house with Sango on his back, unconscious. He decided to find the Higurashis and then ask for their help.

  


~:*:~

  


Kagome, Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka walked down the road that led to Kagome's house. They were chattering and giggling as they walked along. They were planning to do homework at Kagome's house. But when they got there, they say Kagome's mother standing at the door, apparently looking for something. From opposite the road, came an ambulance hurling down the road. It skidded to a stop in front of the Higurashi shrine. The four girls ran up to what was happening. Mrs. Higurashi had turned around into the house and called somebody. A stretcher was already out when a boy with white hair and a red kimono carried a girl in a black suit out. Kagome knew who it was.

  


She ran up and asked Inuyasha, "What the hell happened to Sango!?" Her friends watched her.

  


Inuyasha took out a small needle, showed it to Kagome, and said, "She was hit by this." Kagome wasn't satisfied.

  


"What can _that_ little thing do?" Kagome questioned.

  


Inuyasha replied, "Let's hit you with this. We'll see how fast you fall unconscious from the poison. Sango fell in less than ten seconds."

  


Soon, the ambulance was about to leave. Inuyasha and Kagome ran into the ambulance, wanting to be with their friends. They left Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka confused and dazzled. They turned to Mrs. Higurashi. She held up her hands, and asked, "What?"

  


~:*:~

  


The blaring of the siren rang through the streets as the ambulance sped by. Inside this speeding vehicle were the driver, two paramedics, Inuyasha, Kagome, and an unconscious Sango. Inside, the two civilians and the hanyou were silent. One of the civilian was quiet because she was unconscious. The other two were worried for Sango. They sat on the right side of the ambulance, on the little bench provided. The two paramedics were trying to keep Sango's condition to a minimum. However, the antitoxins they had were no match for the poison. Their only hope was to extract an antidote from the poison samples.

  


The pouch of the barbs were en route to a science center to examine. Three were put aside to try and create an antidote. The paramedics predicted that the poison would, at most, take two weeks to kill.

  


Kagome tried to start a conversation. She asked, "So Inuyasha, what happened?"

  


Inuyasha replied, "A large plant demon attacked us. While we were fighting it, it unleashed a rain of the needles. We didn't notice it until the end of the battle, but Sango was hit."

  


"Oh. So where did this demon come from?" Kagome questioned.

  


"Some villagers said that a person or demon in human form had unleashed this from a seed or something," Inuyasha explained.

  


Kagome exclaimed silently, "What! That means whoever did this must be strong to call upon demons at will. Maybe I should return."

  


"Wench, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Inuyasha said. "If it's that strong, you shouldn't go back. And sometimes weak demons or humans can practice necromancy." 

  


"Okay," Kagome announced. They sat in silence for the rest of the eight minute trip through the streets of Tokyo. They reached the large white hospital building. It was seven stories high, and had a two way road that passed the entrance. On the other side was a parking lot and the ambulance entrance. The ambulance drove into the parking lot and stopped before the twin glass doors. The doors opened as the paramedics pushed the stretcher to the emergency room. Inuyasha and Kagome was led to the waiting room.

  


A doctor in there said, "Your friend there, er.."

  


"Sango," Kagome filled in.

  


"Yeah, your friend Sango, what happened to her?" the doctor asked.

  


"She was poisoned by some kind of," Kagome wandered, looking for words. "... thing."

  


The doctor said, "Okay. What about insurance. Does she have any medical insurance?"

  


"Um, no," Kagome answered. Inuyasha was sort of confused by the lingo.

  


"How long ago was she hit by the barb?" the doctor questioned.

  


Inuyasha informed, "She was hit about an hour and a half ago."

  


"What? Why did you call us _now_?" the doctor asked.

  


"Well, we had an herbal healer near the place where she was stung. We only called for help because the healer didn't have the supplies to treat the poison," Inuyasha said.

  


"Er, okie," the doctor replied. He went off to do other stuff.

  


Inuyasha asked, "Do you think Sango will be okay?"

  


"Yes," Kagome assured, "The people here are very good." However, she had to lie a bit. She thought, _Even if we had better medical technology, the doctors of her age doesn't deal with demon toxins of the past._

  


Inuyasha, sensing her fear, did something out of instinct that it shocked both of them. He took her hand and squeezed it lightly, which did its desired effect. Kagome was not scared for Sango anymore, because something very, and I mean very, weird had just happened. Inuyasha was stunned at what he did. He could not believe that he, the hanyou Inuyasha, would do something to comfort the girl. After about ten seconds of petrification, Inuyasha withdrew his hand and Kagome grasped her. They were both to shocked and too embarrassed to talk, or even look at each other.

  


~:*:~

  


Sango recovered a few days later, when they could derive the antidote from the poison samples. It had cost about 21,000¥*, but they applied Sango to the Higurashi's medical insurance. After Sango was out of the hospital they went back to the feudal era. There Sango would be treated a bit more. Kagome, however, decided to go back with Sango. The team already has one member down, so Kagome would have to go back to support the team. And plus, they had to find out who this 'demon' was.

  


And it was decided. Kagome went back in time with Inuyasha and Sango. There they walked to the village. They expected to continue the search for the jewel after Sango had a rest. But, what they met was totally unexpected. There was a small horde of demons attacking the village. However, these demons were stronger than the slave demons that normally hoarded together for battle. Each one, in Inuyasha's opinion, were thrice as strong as the one that poisoned Sango. Miroku was having trouble trying to fend off the demons, and he couldn't use the air void because it was lost when he defeated Naraku and lifted the curse,

  


Inuyasha took out tetsusaiga. Kagome loaded her bow, Kirara transformed, and Sango took out her boomerang. He said, "Let's go!" Kirara, Sango, and Kagome nodded and charged down the hill that overlooked the village.

  


**A/N: **I'm sure I've got a lot of mistakes in this chapter. I don't know much about hospitals and how they work. But the antidote part, I'm not sure how they do that, and if they would. But it is true that antitoxin is derived from the poison itself. And I think I got the medical insurance part wrong.

  


***21000¥:** It is about $7000 in American tender I believe.

  


**Next Chapter**

_Return to the Past_

  


The team engage in battle with the horde summoned up by this mysterious necromancer. But who is it? And is this the work of the sacred Shikon jewel?

  


  


  



	3. Return to the Past

~:*:~

  


_**Quests**_

By Seigan

  


~:*:~

  


**Disclaimer-**

_Inuyasha does not belong to me_

  


**Rating-**

_Rated PG-13 for blood, violence, and romance_

  


**Genre-**

_Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance, Mystery_

  


**Chapter 3**

_Return to the Past_

  


Miroku fought off another creepy lizard-like demon. His staff slashed it in two. However, there were about a hundred more waiting for him. He was sure that the demons would soon overrun him. Kaede wasn't that much help, either. He held off as many, but these demons were middle-class monsters, and could hold up Miroku for sometime. Their claws could block the staff before it cut the demons, and they tried to slash at him. Miroku was fighting this battle, and he was losing it.

  


A demon's claw knocked the staff out of Miroku's hand. It was about to claw him to pieces when a purified arrow saved him by blowing the head off of the lizard demon. Then, the yell of "Tetsusaiga!" filled the air as Inuyasha jumped into the battle. Sango's boomerang started to make contact with the necks of these lizards. And Kirara viciously jumped into the battle and started to attack the demons.

  


Inuyasha's sword time after time swung, but the sword was repeatedly blocked by the thick claws of the enemy. However, when the sword did hit, it cleaved the lizards in two. He swung it to the right, to the left, upwards and downwards, but there were still more. The area was urban, so he couldn't use the cutting wind. Kagome was not having a good time as well. Her arrows, when they hit, would destroy the reptiles, but the lizards kept dodging her purified arrows. Sango had trouble fighting. She was fatigued from the poison the other day, and now her boomerang was too heavy. It could not be thrown, and using it as a close combat weapon was tough for the weakened exterminator. Sango already had cuts and bruises, both from the enemy and from stress. Miroku had retrieved his staff and was now attacking the lizards. They blocked with their claws but Miroku would used his other arm or legs to attack as well. Then he would attack with his staff. This worked, but it took to much time. Shippou used his illusion tricks to confuse and scare the enemy, making them lose morale so that the adults could do more damage. He used the statues, his toy-top, and his duplicates to attack. The villagers, however, were getting slaughtered. Their spears, swords, and arrows barely pierced the thick lizard scales, and they had very weak defense. The lizards would bite and slash, ripping the men to ribbons.

  


However, on a hill that looked over the village, stood a chuckling man. He wore odd baggy colorful clothes, but there was an evil aura that surrounded him. He watched as the hanyou slay his lizard minions, the exterminator cleaving the reptiles with her boomerang, the monk try to fight off the green beasts, and the girl attacking with her bow and arrows. This evil person watched until most of the lizards were gone. Then, from a leather pouch on his belt, he took out what looked like a marble. He held it in his palm, and outstretched his arm. He said an enchantment, and the marble turned into a small sphere of light. It floated all the way to the village, where it turned into another demon.

  


Inuyasha fought off this green beast, its claws trying to block the onslaught of the tetsusaiga. Finally Inuyasha did a feint and the blade of his sword went through the hard scales of the lizard. He looked over to Sango, who was finishing off her last demon. Miroku had thrust his staff through the heart of his last opponent. Kagome fired a few arrows which finished off the last few lizard demons. Inuyasha then said, "Well guys, we did it!"

  


The team nodded, but stopped when they saw the small prick of light float down to the ground. Inuyasha cautiously moved forward. The light exploded, and out came a giant brown troll with three eyes. It was huge, a towering 15 meters tall at least. Inuyasha shouted, "What the hell!?" but his teammates didn't have the time to respond. It used its heavy fists to pound the ground, crushing some of the villagers. Inuyasha jumped up, preparing to slash the tetsusaiga. However, the demon punched Inuyasha before he could do anything, sending him face first a meter into the ground. Inuyasha thought, _Nobody pummels me into the ground three feet except for Kagome!_

  


Inuyasha jumped onto its shoulder and started to slash at this demon, but his sword only made nicks in the tough carapace of the troll. Stabbing didn't do more damage than cutting. The demon shook Inuyasha off of its shoulder. Kagome ran over to Inuyasha and asked, "Inuyasha, are you okay?"

  


"I'm fine," Inuyasha snapped, and decided to take drastic measures. "Guys, brace yourselves. I'm gonna use the cutting wind." Before the team could change his mind, he unleashed the five cuts onto the beast. Its body was so strong like steel that it was needed. However, the beast only dropped to the ground, sporting five vertical cuts across its torso. Inuyasha shouted, "What the fuck?" He found out the reason that the beast's skin was like steel because it _was_ steel. It seemed as if the body was completely made of flexible steel. There was only one thing to do in such a dire situation.

  


Sango said, "This demon is strong! We need to destroy it somehow."

  


Inuyasha then announced, "There's only one thing we can do to stop it. I'm going to call the Bakuryuuha." The Bakuryuuha, or wound of the wind, was tetsusaiga's ultimate attack which used the cutting wind to wrap around the enemy's youki, and turned the youki against the demon. It was first used to defeat the dragon Ryuukotsusei*. However, it was dangerous and had a large damage radius.

  


Miroku advised, "We shouldn't do it here. It would take many lives. And plus, it hasn't unleashed any youki yet for us to counter."

  


"It does," Inuyasha corrected. "It has used youki in its punches. But you're right. We need to get it far away from the village." He jumped out of the way of another punch. They decided to used themselves as lure to get the demon to an empty field or something.

  


Inuyasha and his team repeatedly attacked the brown troll, getting its attention. Then they ran, and the troll followed. They stopped at a field about two miles from the village, far enough for a Bakuryuuha. Sango, Kirara, Shippou, Miroku, and Kagome had run for cover as Inuyasha waited for the critical moment. It came when the beast was about to summon a youki-powered punch. Inuyasha jumped up as the fist started to move, and Inuyasha unleashed the cutting wind at breaking point. The cutting wind entangled with the youki, and sent it back as white tornados which shattered the steel troll beast into pieces. The tornado scathed the ground and the hills, tearing the landscape apart. The demon was ripped along with the battlefield, sending it into hell.

  


On the other side, opposite and downwind of Inuyasha, stood the very same vile person that summoned the beast, who was perched on top of a tree. He observed the battle style of Inuyasha carefully. He thought, _This hanyou was arrogant and cocky, but his strength matched his ego. The hanyou could summon up five blades of power that could destroy a mountain, and when combine with the enemy's youki, rip any living thing apart. But this hanyou had many flaws. Inuyasha cared for humans, and protected them. Thus, Inuyasha would not summon his weapons when needed. If I was to capture the humans and use them as hostages, this whelp would not be able to do anything. Of course, I have to learn the skills of his teamwork, as well as the other people. But I can tell that the oddly-clothed girl and the hanyou were the strongest in this team. But they will be no match for me. They are strong combined, but get them one-by-one, and they fall._

  


~:*:~

  


They sat around the fire in Kaede's hut. The old miko were treating the wounds of the team. Sango had a few cuts and was seriously fatigued. Miroku had a large gash down his right torso. Kagome had a few small cuts but they were nothing serious. Inuyasha had few wounds, mostly from the effects of the Bakuryuuha. Shippou was sleeping in Kagome's lap, and Kirara was napping on the corner of the hut. She was uninjured as well.

  


Inuyasha asked Kaede, "So baba, what do you know about this attack?"

  


"All I know is that these were not a horde, but a summoned army," Kaede slowly said. "There have been sighting of the man during the battle."

  


Kagome asked, "What do you think he's after?"

  
Kaede answered, "Me thinks he is after the sacred shards of the Shikon jewel."

  


"But if he's that strong, why didn't he just take it?" Miroku asked.

  


"Maybe his intentions were similar to Naraku's scheme," Kaede replied. "The jewel was too good, too pure for him to take. Or maybe he was trying to break through our defense. He maybe strong, but he knows that when ye are together, he cannot defeat ye. His plan is to kill us separately, making us an easy target."

  


"So he isn't that strong, is he?" Sango asked.

  


Kaede answered, "Physically, no. Those who practice Necromancy are usually not that strong themselves. But they can summon powerful creatures to do their bidding. That's why ye must take caution when fighting him.

  


"Feh! All I have to do is avoid his creatures and kill him myself," Inuyasha bragged.

  


"Inuyasha, do not be that stubborn. If he can summon, his magic is strong," Kaede informed. "And all of his summons will smell like him, so ye cannot find his scent in the midst of the horde."

  


Inuyasha asked, "Then what do we do? Sit on our asses and wait for him to kill us?"

  


"Be patient Inuyasha," Kaede scolded. "We must wait until he shows his weakness."

  


"How long will that take!?" Inuyasha shouted.

  


Kagome hushed, "Stop it! We gotta wait until he shows his weakness. Can't you just wait?"

  


"No, I can't," Inuyasha whined. He got up and left the hut. Outside there was hammering and other sounds related to constructing huts. Inuyasha decided to do something constructive, so he decided to help repair some of the huts his cutting wind wiped out. The hanyou took up a few boards, nails, and a hammer, and got up to help add onto the frame of a rising hut. Inuyasha thought, _We should be going on the hunt, not wasting time with stupid strategies. Haven't they heard of the phrase 'No plan ever works in battle'? That stupid necromancer could have Shikon shards for all we know!_

  


Inside the hut, the four adults were talking. Kagome said, "We need to find out if this guy has a jewel shard or not."

  


"I believe he would," Sango said. "Necromancy is strong, but to summon something like this would require huge amounts of power."

  


Miroku added, "And I can't use my air void anymore, so I can't really attack a large number of demons anyway. It would be useful in this situation."

  


Kagome said, "Yes, that is true. But at least you won't die from the void anymore."

  


"True," Miroku said. "But how will we deal with the demon hordes now?"

  


"I guess we'll have to depend on Inuyasha," Kagome said.

  


Sango asked, "But what if Inuyasha's a human during that time? Or if he's not here?"

  


"We'll just have to make due until he can start fighting again," Kagome said. "We're doomed if we don't have his powers."

  


The other nodded. They talked for the night, and later on, went to sleep. Inuyasha continued to help rebuild the village, going on for the whole night without sleeping. But tomorrow, they would not have such a chance at rest. For tomorrow is the day that they meet the enemy that they have been fighting, but can they win?

  


**A/N:** Well, I like the way this story is going so far. For those who are too stupid, necromancy is the art of summoning evil, and necromancers are those who practice it. Kinda like the hell painter except that you don't need a Shikon shard.

  


***Ryuukotsusei:** Mortal enemy of IY & Sess's father. Inuyasha fights him in episode 53 _Father's Mortal Enemy, Ryuukotsusei_ and defeats him using the Bakuryuuha in episode 54 _Tetsusaiga's Ultimate Attack, Bakuryuuha!_

  


**Next Chapter**

_Tetsusaiga Vs. Necromancy_

  


Inuyasha and his team faces off with the new enemy and his art of necromancy. What will happen? And why is this person after the jewel shards? He doesn't even use the ones he has!


End file.
